Karin Stanek. The girl with the guitar

Karin Stanek’s musical career began in Silesia in the early 1960s, when she won a competition, “The Czerwono-Czarni band is looking for talent”, run by the Polish state radio station Polskie Radio. She delighted the judges with her song “Jimmy Joe”, which she sang while accompanying herself on the guitar. Shortly afterwards, she toured throughout Poland with Czerwono-Czarni. Millions of people knew her songs, such as “Chłopiec z gitarą”, “Malowana lala” and “Jedziemy autostopem”. During the 1960s, she was the undisputed queen of beat music in Poland, and a hugely popular idol among Polish young people. Today, she is frequently compared to Janis Joplin. At the end of the 1970s, Stanek paused her career in Poland and emigrated to West Germany, where, together with her manager, Anna Kryszkiewicz, she continued her musical journey under the name “Cory Gun”. However, her most loyal fans and an audience of millions remained in Poland.

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Karin Stanek in front of the Grand Hotel in Sopot

Karin Stanek with the band Czerwono-Czarni

Concert poster, “Polish Stars Parade”, USA

Karin Stanek in front of the Carnegie Hall in New York

CD cover “Malowana lala”, Syrena Records USA

Karin Stanek in Łazienki Park in Warsaw

Karin Stanek in concert in Halle (former GDR)

Karin Stanek and manager Anna Kryszkiewicz with the film crew in Frankfurt/Main

Karin Stanek during the recording of the ZDF show “Disco”

Karin Stanek at the 12th Festival of Polish Song in Opole

Karin Stanek in Munich

Karin Stanek’s song “Ich mag dich so wie du bist” (“I like you just as you are”) in the German charts

Karin Stanek as “Cory Gun” in West Germany

Karin Stanek at the Rock-and-Roll Festival on Neumarkt square, Cologne

Record cover “Tell me” by Karin Stanek and the band Blackbird

Karin Stanek during the rehearsal on the “forest stage” in Sopot

Concert poster, Karin Stanek with the band Gang Olsena

Karin Stanek, 1997

Karin Stanek’s final album, “Sex”

Triple album, “Karin Stanek – Autostopem z malowaną lalą”

Karin Stanek’s final resting place

Karin Stanek, sculpture by Jacek Wichrowski

Karin Stanek, around 1978

Private archive Stefan Papierowski

A permanent memento

Anna Kryszkiewicz, Karin Stanek’s untiring manager, and Karin’s loyal fans, still keep the memory of the “Queen of Polish beat music” alive today. One particular contribution was made by Stefan Papierowski. He and Karin Stanek were friends. She met him several times and kept in touch by letter. She described him as her “biggest, most loyal fan in Poland”, and gave him a series of personal mementoes, including her guitar and stage costumes. Stefan Papierowski, as well as being Karin's “most loyal fan”, also organised special exhibitions, gave interviews and visited schools in Silesia to tell the young pupils about Karin Stanek’s decisiveness and talent. In his mind, all of these items could later be used as the basis for a permanent exhibition or a place of remembrance for Karin Stanek.

The actress and singer Arleta gave a series of concerts in different venues in Poland together with the Acoustic Warsaw Band, at which she sang Karin Stanek’s greatest hits to great acclaim. For her part, Anna Kryszkiewicz produced and published a triple CD album, “Karin Stanek – Autostopem z malowaną lalą” (“Karin Stanek – hitch-hiking with the painted doll”). In memory of Karin Stanek, the town of Bytom renamed the square in front of the local culture centre after her and erected a memorial plaque dedicated to her there.

In addition, for two years, the “League of non-indifferent women” (Liga Kobiet Nieobojętnych) from Bytom collected money to enable a statue to be built in honour of Karin Stanek. In 2013 to mark the occasion of the 70th birthday of the charismatic singer from Silesia, the statue was unveiled in front of the culture centre in Bytom. The statue was created by the sculptor Jacek Wichrowski.

In 2011, shortly before Karin's death, Anna Kryszkiewicz unveiled the Karin Stanek star in the walk of fame in Opole. And in Szczecin, where she won the first Festival of Young Talent in 1962, Stefan Papierowski unveiled a start with her autograph in the walk of fame there, in the garden of the Villa Sorrento.

Alina Moś-Kerger, a theatre director from Katowice, wrote a moving monodrama about Karin Stanek. The singer was played by actress Agnieszka Wajs, while the music was provided by Piotr Górka, a well-known musician in Silesia.

Anna Kryszkiewicz paid homage to her friend, with whom she worked for 40 years, with the biography “Karin Stanek. Autostopem z malowaną lalą” (“Karin Stanek. Hitch-hiking with the Painted Doll”). In 1991, it was printed as a serial in the press, and since 2015 has been available in an extended version from the Edipresse publishers in Warsaw. Kryszkiewicz also maintains a website dedicated to Karin Stanek: karin-stanek.hpage.com. Stefan Papierowski administers the KARIN STANEK group on Facebook and regularly publishes material about the singer on his YouTube channel.

Joanna de Vincenz, July 2022

This text was written on the basis of the book by Anna Kryszkiewicz: “Karin Stanek. Autostopem z malowaną lalą”, Warsaw 2015.

The author of this article wishes to thank Anna Kryszkiewicz and Stefan Papierowski for their cooperation and for making photographs available from their personal archives.

Discography

1962 – Karin Stanek, Czerwono-Czarni (P, Muza SP-323)

1962 – Karin Stanek, Czerwono-Czarni (Muza N-0209)

1963 – Karin Stanek, Czerwono-Czarni (EP, Pronit N-0257)

1963 – Karin Stanek, Czerwono-Czarni (EP, Pronit N-0289)

1964 – Karin Stanek, Czerwono-Czarni (Muza N-0303)

1966 – Czerwono-Czarni (LP, Muza SXL-0352)

1966 – Karin Stanek – Malowana lala (Syrena Record Company USA, LPS-1004)

1967 – Czerwono-Czarni – 17.000.000 (LP, Muza XL-0458)

1979 – Karin Stanek – Ich mag dich so wie du bist (TopSound, S-9001, Germany)

1979 – Karin Stanek – Das geballte Temperament mit der unerhörten Stimme (TopSound, Top-368, Germany)

1981 – CORY GUN – Let's have a party (Monopole, S-1931, Germany)